Newsline - August 4, 2000

August 04, 2000 00:00 GMT

Share

Newsline - August 4, 2000

share

ANOTHER CRIMINAL CASE DROPPED...

The office of the
Prosecutor-General halted on 3 August the criminal
proceedings launched against the leaders of AvtoVAZ (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 13 July 2000). The office determined that
the Tax Police did not have a sufficient basis for launching
the case. According to ITAR-TASS, the tax police accused the
company of selling more cars than they had reported to tax
authorities; however, the tax officials did not question
AvtoVAZ authorities regarding the allegation nor did they
conduct sufficient document checks of auto buyers and parts
suppliers. "Segodnya," which is owned by Vladimir Gusinskii's
Media-MOST, speculated on 4 August that the real reason for
the case's closure is "political," citing deputy chief of the
presidential administration Vladimir Surikov's assurances to
"The New York Times" the previous day that "recent attacks on
the country's leading businessmen are not part of a
systematic government policy." JAC

...AS ANOTHER TELEVISION EXECUTIVE GETS OUT OF JAIL...

After
spending almost two years in jail, Russian Video head Dmitrii
Rozhdestvenskii was freed on 3 August, while he awaits trial
on charges of misappropriating state funds and tax evasion
scheduled for 28 August. Russian Video was at the center of
criminal charges against Media-MOST head Gusinskii, which
were recently dropped (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 June 2000).
According to "Segodnya" on 4 August, 12 State Duma deputies,
including Unity faction leader Boris Gryzhlov and Duma deputy
speaker (Union of Rightist Forces) Irina Khakamada, had
appealed last month to a local court to release
Rozhdestvenskii. Before she was killed at the end of 1998,
State Duma deputy and party leader Galina Starovoitova had
also repeatedly applied for the release of Rozhdestvenskii
before trial "under her guaranty" because she believed the
case against him was "political," Interfax reported. JAC

...AND MEDIA-MOST ALLEGES MORE KREMLIN INTERFERENCE

A Media-
MOST spokesman confirmed that his company is holding talks
with Gazprom about exchanging shares in the company for a
loan, but denied that control over the company will change
hands. The spokesman also declared that a statement by deputy
chief of the presidential administration Surikov--who in an
interview with "The New York Times" said that Media-MOST
would be sold to Gazprom--is a "lie," and charged that
Surikov's remarks were intended to influence negotiations
with Gazprom and disrupt Media-MOST's work. JAC

U.S., RUSSIA TO COOPERATE AGAINST TALIBAN

The United States
and Russia have agreed to expand their cooperation to combat
Afghan-sponsored terrorism, Western agencies reported on 3
August. The two governments condemned the Taliban's support
for terrorism, its involvement in drug trafficking, and its
refusal to extradite Saudi-born international terrorist Osama
bin Laden. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a
statement on 2 August praising Germany's condemnation of
extremist acts, ITAR-TASS reported. PG

FRANCO-RUSSIAN DISPUTE CONTINUES

First Deputy Foreign
Minister Aleksandr Avdeev on 3 August met with French
Ambassador Claude Blanchemaison to say that Moscow
appreciates French official support on the seizure of the
Russian sailing vessel "Sedov" to settle claims by the Noga
company but that "the dragging out of a situation around the
arrest of Russian diplomatic mission accounts" is
inadmissible. Meanwhile, Russia's ambassador in Paris,
Nikolai Afanasievskii, blasted the French position,
"Kommersant" reported the same day. PG

BRITISH OPPOSITION TO MND WINS MOSCOW'S SUPPORT

London's
announcement that the 1972 ABM treaty must be preserved has
won support in Moscow, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 3
August. The paper said that the U.K. represents "another
ally" in its dispute with Washington and that "Russia is
delighted to hear this." PG

BEREZOVSKII CONDUCTS MORE MEETINGS WITH GOVERNORS

In an
interview with Russian Public Television (ORT) on 3 August,
Boris Berezovskii revealed that he has met recently with
Sverdlovsk Governor Eduard Rossel and Orel Governor Yegor
Stroev. According to Berezovskii, he discussed the formation
of a "constructive opposition" to the Kremlin. Last month,
Berezovskii also held meetings with Rossel and other regional
leaders as part of his attempt to form a new political party
(see "RFE/RL Russian Federation Report," 26 July 2000).
During the interview, Berezovskii also suggested that he
"will probably change [his] mind" regarding the sale of his
stake in ORT to the government because the possible takeover
of NTV by Gazprom would mean that the state "would control
all three [television] channels." JAC

NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET COULD LAND IN DUMA BEFORE FALL

The
Russian government will reconsider the draft 2001 budget on
22 August, Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko told
reporters on 4 July. The deputy chairman of the State Duma
Budget Committee (Fatherland-All Russia), Gennadii Kulik,
said the previous day that the government may submit the
budget to the Duma as early as 26 August, according to the
website http://www.polit.ru. (The Duma is currently in summer
recess.) Kulik said that the government has been asked to
examine two different versions of the budget, one which calls
for an uneven distribution of revenue between the center and
the regions, and another that sets the levels at 50-50. Some
analysts have predicted that members of the upper legislative
chamber are expecting concessions from the government on the
budget in return for their support for President Vladimir
Putin's federation reforms (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 August
2000). JAC

PUTIN CRITICIZES MORE LOCAL LEADERS FOR PORT MANAGEMENT...

Addressing regional leaders in the Northwest federal district
on 3 August, President Putin both praised and criticized
their handling of the local economy. According to Putin, the
Northwest region is "one of the most developed" in Russia and
"around half of locally produced goods can compete on foreign
markets." However, he noted that poor local port facilities
and the low quality of services provided there causes Russia
to lose some 70 million tons of cargo worth around $1.5
billion a year in taxable revenue to neighboring ports in the
Baltic countries and Finland. While visiting Kamchatka last
month, Putin also raised the issue of that port's failure to
compete effectively with a nearby ports in Korea (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 26 July 2000). JAC

...AS SOME GOVERNORS REFUSE TO INTERRUPT THEIR VACATIONS

The
Northwest district includes the Karelia and Komi republics,
Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Murmansk,
Novgorod, and Pskov oblasts, the city of St. Petersburg, and
Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The leaders of three of those
regions were absent from the meeting with Putin: Kaliningrad
Governor Leonid Gorbenko, Murmansk Governor Yurii Evdokimov,
and Vologda Governor Vyacheslav Pozgalaev, "Segodnya"
reported on 3 August. Gorbenko is ill with a high temperature
while Evdokimov and Pozgalaev are on vacation. The daily
alleges that the latter two governors are in "presidential
disfavor" while Putin is backing a challenger to Gorbenko's
position in gubernatorial elections scheduled for November.
Putin also commented on 3 August that he does not rule out
the possibility of giving the proposed State Council
constitutional status (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 August 2000).
JAC

ADMIRAL PUSHED FOR GOVERNOR OF KALININGRAD

A party linked to
the pro-Kremlin Unity is advancing the candidacy of Admiral
Vladimir Yegorov to be governor of Kaliningrad, "Kommersant"
reported on 3 August. His backers say that he will more
forcefully defend the "military strategic importance " of
this region for Russia and will avoid the shadowy economic
ties of the current governor, Gorbenko. PG

JAPAN DISMISSES REPORTS THAT RUSSIAN TREATY NEAR

Chief
cabinet secretary Hidenao Nakagawa told journalists in Tokyo
on 3 August that Russian President Putin has not suggested
reaching an accord on key points but leaving the territorial
dispute between the two countries for future discussion,
Western agencies reported. Meanwhile, Japanese Foreign
Minister Yohei Kono reaffirmed Tokyo's position that the
territorial dispute must be resolved before any treaty can be
signed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 August 2000). PG

SHELL EXPECTS TALKS WITH GAZPROM ON SIBERIAN FIELD

Royal
Dutch Shell announced on 3 August that it expects to begin
talks with Gazprom in the near future on the joint
development of the Zapolyarnoye oil and gas field in Siberia,
Reuters reported. The two companies agreed to cooperate in
1997; this will be their first joint project. PG

MANILOV SAYS FIRED GENERALS DIDN'T OPPOSE REFORM

Colonel-
General Valerii Manilov, the first deputy chief of the
Russian General Staff, told ITAR-TASS on 3 August that there
were no opponents of army reform among the six recently
discharged general officers. And he added that there were no
"underlying politics" behind their departure. Despite his
assertion, the Moscow press continues to feature articles
speculating on the divisions within the Russian army. PG

TWO RUSSIAN OFFICERS MISSING IN CHECHNYA

Valerii Manilov,
the first deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, said on
3 August that two senior officers from the military
commandant's office in Vedeno, southern Chechnya, have
disappeared, ITAR-TASS reported. But on 4 August, Russian
presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembskii denied a subsequent
ITAR-TASS report that the two men have been executed and
decapitated. LF

ANOTHER PRO-MOSCOW CHECHEN OFFICIAL TARGETED

The brother of
Nozhai-Yurt district administrator Isita Gairbekova was
killed and her mother and sister seriously injured by an
explosive device that blew up at their home early on 3
August, Interfax reported. Gairbekova was in Gudermes at the
time. LF

GANTEMIROV DENIES CHECHENS CAPABLE OF RETAKING GROZNY

First
deputy interim administration head Beslan Gantemirov told
Interfax on 3 August that Chechen forces are not capable of
staging a repeat of the 6 August 1996 recapture of Grozny.
Gantemirov said that four years ago Grozny "lay defenseless,
and any armed man could enter it," whereas now federal forces
have drawn up detailed plans to counter any Chechen assault
on the city. The Chechens have, however, warned residents of
Gudermes to evacuate homes located within 4-5 kilometers of
federal troop locations, and to stop rendering any assistance
to the Russian forces or face reprisals, ITAR-TASS reported.
The Russian military anticipates a full-scale assault on
Gudermes on 6 or 7 August. LF

UNITY PARTY VISITORS PRAISE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM

Boris
Gryzhlov, the leader of the Unity Party delegation that is
attending the U.S. Republican Party convention in
Philadelphia, told "Kommersant" on 3 August that "all issues
can be discussed constructively with the U.S. Republican
Party." The group noted that "Russia is mentioned on almost
every one of the 20 pages" of the party platform's foreign
policy planks and said that even Republican criticism of the
Clinton administration "strikes a note that is to Moscow's
advantage." Gryzhlov noted that George W. Bush's foreign
policy adviser, Condoleeza Rice, had told him that Chechnya
is "Russia's internal affair" and that Clinton's decision to
intervene in Kosova was "incorrect." PG

PATRIARCH SAYS PAPAL VISIT A POSSIBILITY

Patriarch Aleksii
II told Rome's "Corriere della Sera" on 3 August that Pope
John Paul II will be able to visit Russia once the two
churches settle their disagreements. He added that dialogue
between the churches is "possible and extremely necessary."
PG

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP TO CHALLENGE ABOLITION OF WATCHDOG
AGENCY

In an interview with "Segodnya" on 3 August, Vera
Mishchenko, head of the Ekoyuris Institute in Moscow, said
that she plans to file a suit in the Supreme Court against
the Russian central government for its decision to eliminate
the State Ecology Committee, merging its functions with the
Natural Resources Ministry. Environmentalists have objected
to the merger because the ministry licenses the commercial
exploitation of natural resources (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23
May 2000). Mishchenko charged that "no civilized country in
the world has such a combination [of functions]." JAC

YABLOKO LOSES DEPUTY

State Duma Deputy Nikolai Travkin
announced on 2 August that he is leaving Yabloko's faction in
the lower legislative house, "Kommersant-Daily" reported the
next day. The chairman of the St. Petersburg Yabloko branch,
Aleksandr Shishlov, told the daily that the reason for
Travkin's departure is likely linked with his opposition to
cooperation with the Union of Rightist Forces (SPS) faction.
Yabloko and SPS recently decided to merge into one political
organization. According to the daily, Yabloko's faction now
numbers 19. JAC

UNIDENTIFIED FLOATING OBJECT THREATENS JAPANESE FISHING

An
unidentified floating craft 100 meters long and 15 meters
deep has been adrift off Japan's coast and threatens fishing
operations there, ITAR-TASS reported on 3 August. Neither
Russian nor Japanese officials have been able to identify
just what this metal structure is, beyond noting that it
bears a Russian sign saying "fire hazardous." PG

KARACHAEVO-CHERKESSIA INTERIOR MINISTER INJURED IN GRENADE
ATTACK

Aleksandr Papura, who was named interior minister of
the Republic of Karachevo-Cherkessia six months ago, was
slightly injured by a grenade tossed into the yard of his
home late on 2 August, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 4
August. His German shepherd dog was killed by the blast.
Karachaevo-Cherkess President Vladimir Semenov told Interfax
the attack was almost certainly meant as revenge for the
recent arrest of the leader of a local criminal group. LF

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN CALLS FOR SHADOW GOVERNMENT

Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on 3 August,
National Democratic Union (AZhM) parliament deputy Arshak
Sadoyan accused President Robert Kocharian and Defense
Minister Serzh Sarkisian of creating an atmosphere of
"political confrontation," Armenpress reported. Sadoyan said
the present leadership is incapable of setting national
priorities and pursues "selfish ends." He also argued that
the 26 and 28 July parliament votes approving government
proposals to privatize four energy distribution networks were
not valid, as 66 votes are required but only 64 and 63 were
cast in favor. Sadoyan called on all "healthy forces" to
align in a shadow government with the objective of forcing--
by legal and peaceful means--the present government's
resignation. LF

PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY FOR AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT'S VISIT TO
IRAN

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayet Guliev met in Baku
on 3 August with Tehran's ambassador, Alirza Bikdeli, to
discuss the agenda for Heidar Aliev's visit to Iran next
month, Turan reported. The visit had originally been
scheduled for the fall of 1999 and then for March of this
year (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 2, No. 41, 14
October 1999 and Vol. 3, No. 12, 24 March 2000). LF

FORMER AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE OFFICIAL SAYS MUCH MILITARY
EQUIPMENT OBSOLETE

Alekper Mamedov, a former aide to
Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiev, told journalists in
Baku on 3 August that since 1994 the country's armed forces
have been using obsolete equipment, Interfax reported. He
claimed that the Defense Ministry had spent millions of
dollars purchasing obsolete Soviet military hardware. Mamedov
also claimed that 2,000 servicemen have been killed and about
3,000 wounded in peacetime. An investigation last year failed
to confirm similar allegations of corruption within the
Defense Ministry (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 2, No.
34, 26 August 1999 and Vol. 3, No. 5, 4 February 2000). LF

GEORGIAN PRESIDENT AMNESTIES 44 PRISONERS

Eduard
Shevardnadze pardoned 44 prisoners on 2 August out of a total
of 147 whose names were submitted to him for consideration,
Caucasus Press reported. All had already completed more than
half the prison terms to which they had been sentenced for
minor offenses, and 11 of them were former members of Tengiz
Kitovani's Georgian National Guard. Shevardnadze declined,
however, to amnesty 48 supporters of former President Zviad
Gamsakhurdia whose comrades have threatened major protests if
they are not released, according to AP. Parliament speaker
Zurab Zhvania met on 3 August with members of the
parliament's National Reconciliation Commission and the
Coordinating Council for Political Prisoners to discuss those
cases but the parliament's Human Rights Committee chairwoman,
Elene Tevdoradze, said on 4 August that all those
Gamsakhurdia supporters eligible for amnesty have already
been released. LF

KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT WARNS TAX EVADERS

Speaking in the
northern city of Pavlodar on 2 August, Nursultan Nazarbaev
said an investigation will be launched to establish why many
of the country's major industrial enterprises, including the
Eurasian Bank group and KazakhMys, the country's largest
copper producer, are failing to meet their tax commitments,
Reuters and Interfax reported. "We need to work on getting
them to open up their secrets, so that every Kazakh knows how
much they produce, where they sell, what the world price was,
how much profit they made, and how much tax they paid on that
profit," Reuters quoted him as saying. Nazarbaev also said he
has charged Deputy Premier Daniyal Akhmetov with drafting
measures to persuade major enterprises to purchase locally
produced rather than imported
equipment. LF

KAZAKHSTAN'S PROSECUTOR GENERAL REJECTS BRIBE CHARGES

Yurii
Khitrin told a press conference in Astana on 3 August that
Western press accounts claiming that President Nazarbaev and
former Premier Nurlan Balghymbaev received multimillion
dollar bribes from Western oil companies are "complete
nonsense and fiction," and no evidence exists to substantiate
those accusations, Reuters reported. Khitrin also said he
plans to travel to Belgium next month in an attempt to
persuade the Belgian authorities to cooperate in efforts to
secure the extradition to Kazakhstan and prosecution of
former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin. LF

KYRGYZ DEMONSTRATORS DEMAND KULOV'S ACQUITTAL

Some 150
people gathered outside the Supreme Court building in Bishkek
on 3 August to demand the acquittal of former Bishkek Mayor
Feliks Kulov, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported.
Kulov's six-week trial on charges of abusing his official
position while serving as National Security Minister ended on
31 July, but a sentence has not yet been passed. Meanwhile
the trial continues of a second prominent opposition
politician, Topchubek Turgunaliev, who is accused of plotting
to assassinate President Askar Akaev (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
3 August 2000). LF

TAJIK SECURITY OFFICIAL SEES THREATS RECEDING

A large-scale
opposition movement with significant popular support no
longer exists in Tajikistan, Interfax on 3 August quoted
Security Council Secretary Amirkul Azimov as saying. Azimov
said almost all arms belonging to former units of the United
Tajik Opposition that have been integrated into the armed
forces or Interior Ministry have been registered, and that
President Imomali Rakhmonov's May decree abolishing contract
military service has further contributed to stabilizing the
political situation. Azimov said some legally registered
opposition political parties have only minimal influence. He
evaluated the Tajik armed forces as the most mobile and
professional in all the Central Asian Soviet successor states
by virtue of their experience fighting the civil war of 1992-
1997. But he admitted that Tajikistan remains vulnerable to
continued upheaval in neighboring Afghanistan, adding that
the entire world community must endeavor to bring about an
end to drug-smuggling from Afghanistan via Tajikistan to
other CIS states and Western Europe. LF

TAJIK CABINET SEEKS TO INCREASE EXPORTS

Economy and Foreign
Economic Relations Minister Yahyo Azimov said in Dushanbe on
2 August that Tajikistan intends to increase the production
and export of aluminum and cotton, which are the country's
two main foreign currency earners, Reuters and Asia Plus-
Blitz reported. He estimated that aluminum production will
increase from 230,000 tons in 1999 to 300,000 tons in 2000
and 346,000 tons in 2005. Presidential spokesman Zafar Saidov
told Reuters that cotton production this year will be 500,000
tons, up from 316,000 tons last year. Azimov had estimated
this year's cotton harvest at 350,000 tons. Azimov also
downplayed last week's UN agency claims that half of
Tajikistan's population is threatened by hunger as a result
of this summer's drought (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 July
2000). Deputy Agriculture Minister Ikhtior Ashurov said only
100,000 tons of grain of an anticipated harvest of 700,000
tons have been lost. "There will be no famine," he concluded.
LF

PACE DELEGATION ADVISES AGAINST SENDING OBSERVERS TO
BELARUSIAN POLLS

A delegation from the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on 4 August
advised against sending international observers to monitor
Belarus's parliamentary elections on 15 October, AP
reported. "We are very disappointed by the apparent lack of
progress in creating adequate conditions necessary for
holding free and fair elections in Belarus," the
delegation's head, Terry Davis, said in a statement in
Minsk. The statement noted that little has been done by the
Belarusian government to meet the OSCE conditions, which
included establishing a democratic election code, providing
adequate access to the media for all political parties, and
abstaining from political repression before the vote.
"Given the existing circumstances, the delegation will not
recommend the PACE to send observers to these elections,"
the statement said, adding that the PACE will make a
decision on observers at the end of August. JM

UKRAINE REPORTS 0.1 PERCENT DEFLATION IN JULY

The State
Statistics Committee on 3 August reported that the country
posted a 0.1 percent deflation rate in July. The committee
attributed the deflation to a seasonal drop in food prices,
saying that food prices dropped 0.4 percent, while nonfood
prices went up 0.6 percent. Inflation was 18.7 percent in the
first six months of 2000, well above the government's
projected year-end inflation rate of 15.9 percent. Officials
fear that inflation may soar later this year if Kyiv fails to
agree with the IMF on the renewal of the latter's $2.6
billion loan program (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 August 2000).
A Ukrainian delegation led by Deputy Premier Yuriy Yekhanurov
is currently in Washington for talks with the IMF on the
restoration of the suspended loan. JM

GAZPROM SEES UKRAINIAN BOMBERS FOR GAS AS 'HEADACHE'

Gazprom
has said the transfer of Ukrainian strategic bombers as
repayment for Ukraine's gas debt is unprofitable for Russia,
the "Eastern Economic Daily" reported on 3 August. Ukrainian
Premier Viktor Yushchenko earlier confirmed that Kyiv is
considering such a repayment scheme (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2
August 2000). Gazprom press service head Anatolii Babaev said
the possible transfer could become "a headache for Gazprom
since if this proposal were implemented, Russia would not
gain anything but would have to pay large amounts of taxes."
Babaev added, however, that Kyiv's proposal to repay its gas
debt by putting part of Ukraine's gas pipeline network at
Russia's disposal is a "constructive step." JM

ESTONIAN GOVERNMENT NOT TO ATTEND ANOTHER SPECIAL PARLIAMENT
SESSION

The government on 3 August decided not to
participate in a special session of the parliament, scheduled
for 7 August, ETA reported. Opposition parliament members
asked for the session to discuss two bills. The first calls
for the state to retain a majority stake in Eesti Raudtee,
the state railways, of which the state is seeking to sell a
66 percent stake. The second bill calls for an audit and
report of the central bank's activities. A similar session on
25 July failed because of a lack of quorum as the ruling
coalition failed to participate in the session to discuss the
proposed deal to sell a minority stake of the country's main
power plants to U.S. company NRG Energy (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 26 July 2000). The ruling coalition expressed
interest in calling a special session on 14 August to discuss
the energy sector. MH

PUBLIC DRAFT AMENDMENT APPROVED IN LATVIA

By a 50 to 22
vote, the Latvian parliament on 3 August approved the draft
bill submitted in a public initiative to stop the
privatization of power utility Latvenergo, LETA reported. The
draft bill, supported by over 20 percent of Latvian voters in
a petition drive (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 July 2000), bans
the privatization of the company and excludes the possibility
of any affiliates or spinoffs from restructuring. The passage
of the bill unamended, supported by the opposition and both
the New Party and For Fatherland and Freedom from the ruling
coalition, ensures that the issue does not have to be decided
by a public referendum. The Economics Ministry, however,
hinted at the need to amend the bill in the future, BNS
added. MH

KAUNAS CITY COUNCIL DOOMS DALKIA DEAL

The Kaunas City
Council on 3 August voted to end talks with French concern
Dalkia over a deal to lease the city's heating utility, Kauno
Energija, for a 15-year period, ELTA reported. A nearly
unanimous vote supported the decision by the city government
not to begin official negotiations with Dalkia over the
heating utility (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 July 2000). Kaunas
negotiators said the French company is not willing to
compromise and believed that Kaunas will receive more offers
for the heating utility in the near future, BNS added. MH

POLAND'S INCUMBENT PRESIDENT WELL AHEAD IN POPULARITY POLL

The OBOP polling agency reported on 3 August that President
Aleksander Kwasniewski obtained 66 percent support as a
presidential candidate in a poll conducted from 22-24 July.
If presidential elections were held at that time, Andrzej
Olechowski (independent) and Solidarity leader Marian
Krzaklewski would have obtained 9 percent of the vote each.
Other hopefuls trail by more: Jaroslaw Kalinowski has 5
percent backing, Andrzej Lepper 4 percent, and Lech Walesa 2
percent. JM

Wieslaw Walendziak, head
of the presidential election team of Solidarity leader Marian
Krzaklewski, reached a settlement with his counterpart from
President Kwasniewski's election team, Ryszard Kalisz, Polish
media reported on 3 August. Walendziak sued Kalisz for libel,
demanding an apology (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 August 2000).
Kalisz agreed to publicly read the following statement:
"Ryszard Kalisz publicly states that he never claimed and
does not claim that Wieslaw Walendziak issues or has issued
instructions to the State Protection Office." JM

JEWISH ORGANIZATION COMPLAINS IN STRASBOURG OVER PRAGUE
CEMETERY

An organization calling itself the Committee for
the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe has filed a
complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in
Strasbourg over the continuation of construction works at the
site of a medieval Jewish cemetery in Prague (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 25 July 2000). The organization urges it to "stop
the desecration" of the cemetery. A Czech lawyer representing
the organization told journalists on 3 August that it is
asking the court to issue an injunction halting the
construction, which, she said, also constituted a "violation
of human rights." Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Rychetsky said
in reaction that he does not even know if the complaint is
directed at the government and called it "absurd." MS

CZECH POLICE DETAIN REFUGEES WHO ESCAPED CAMP

Police have so
far detained 30 out of the 83 refugees who left the refugee
camp in Cerveny Ujezd after a quarantine was imposed on the
camp due to a hepatitis outbreak, CTK reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 3 August 2000). Some of the refugees were stopped
by German border guards while attempting to cross the
frontier. Representatives of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees visited the camp on 3 August and a
spokeswoman for the Prague office of the commissioner said
the unrest among refugees in the camp is mainly due to
"communication failures." She said the camp management failed
to sufficiently explain to the refugees why the quarantine
was imposed. But Frantisek Svibek, deputy director of the
camp, said in reaction that "both sides must be ready to
communicate." MS

RUSSIAN ESPIONAGE CULTIVATES LINKS WITH CZECH EXTREMISTS

Russian spies operating on Czech territory maintain special
contacts with members of both left- and right-wing extremist
organizations, the daily "Lidove noviny" reported on 4
August, citing a report by the Czech Counterintelligence
Service (BIS) for 1998-99. The daily says the links with
leftist groups no longer derive from ideological reasons, but
from the Russian Federation's opposition to NATO enlargement.
This is why, according to the BIS report, Russian espionage
cultivates links with neo-Bolshevik groups that promote
"Slavic brotherhood." Also stemming from opposition to NATO
enlargement are its links to extreme right groups opposed to
it, such as the Patriotic Front. The Russians even seek to
establish cooperation between the two extremes, the report
concluded. MS

FIFTY SLOVAKS APPLY FOR ASYLUM IN FINLAND

Less than three
weeks after Finland abolished the visa requirements for
Slovak nationals, 50 Slovak citizens left for Finland to ask
for political asylum there, Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris
Gandel told CTK on 3 August. Gandel did not say whether the
applicants were members of the Romany minority but said the
attempt raises the danger of visa re-imposition. An official
statement of the Foreign Ministry issued on the same day said
that since 15 July, an amended Finnish law on foreigners
requires that applications for asylum be processed within two
to three weeks and in case of rejection applicants are to be
deported within 21 days. The ministry said the new law makes
what it dubbed as "asylum tourism" unprofitable, since
applicants receive from the Finnish authorities less money
than they invested to pay for the flight to Finland. MS

GOENCZ SUMS UP HUNGARIAN PRESIDENTIAL DECADE

"Thank you,
Hungary"--this is how outgoing President Arpad Goencz on 3
August ended a speech on Hungarian Television summing up his
two presidential terms. Goencz said that during his 10-year
tenure as head of state Hungary underwent "a tremendous
change," converting from a country of "rule over the people"
and "a state-run command economy" to one of "rule by the
people and a market economy." Once a Soviet "satellite,"
Hungary has joined NATO and will "join a united Europe in the
foreseeable future," Goencz said. But he warned that Hungary
is still not a country that places the individual at the
center of its preoccupation and that "we seek enemies where
we could easily find friends." On 4 August, Goencz will give
a speech at the inauguration of his successor, Ferenc Madl.
MS

BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE PROTESTS SERBIAN ARRESTS

The Foreign
Office summoned Belgrade's London-based diplomats on 3 August
to demand information on the recent arrest at Andrijevica--
near Montenegro's border with Kosova--of two British OSCE
police trainers and two Canadian contractors, "The
Independent" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 August 2000).
In Ottawa, the Canadian government expressed similar
concerns, Reuters noted. The four were on vacation in
Montenegro from their jobs in Kosova. In Vienna, a
spokeswoman for the OSCE called "absolutely absurd" Yugoslav
army charges that the four are "terrorists" sent to train
Montenegrin police for an eventual confrontation with
Belgrade, the "Guardian" reported. The arrests come shortly
after the arrest of four Dutch citizens for allegedly
plotting to kill Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 1 August 2000). PM

GENERAL CLARK URGES PLANNING FOR MONTENEGRO

Observers note
that the arrests are most likely part of a Milosevic campaign
to stir up anti-Western sentiment in Serbia in the runup to
the 24 September elections. That the latest arrests took
place in Montenegro appears to be part of an effort to depict
the Montenegrin leadership as a Western fifth column and to
intimidate Podgorica. U.S. General Wesley Clark, who was
NATO's supreme commander in Europe until recently, believes
that Milosevic will try to move against the Montenegrin
leadership at some point in the next few months when the U.S.
public is absorbed in the November general elections, the
"Guardian" reported on 4 August. He called on the White House
and Pentagon to begin now to position aircraft in the region
and to line up political support from allies. PM

YUGOSLAV ARMY SHUTS SOME MONTENEGRIN BORDER CROSSINGS

The
army has set up checkpoints and closed frontier crossings at
several places along the Montenegrin-Bosnian border, RFE/RL's
South Slavic Service reported on 3 August. The latest action
is part of an ongoing series of cat-and-mouse moves that the
army has made in recent months in an effort to assert its
authority vis-a-vis the Montenegrin police and border guards.
PM

ALBRIGHT: SERBIA'S MILOSEVIC 'RUNNING SCARED'

U.S. Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright said in Washington on 3 August
that Milosevic is "running scared and consequently taking
actions that are illegal and changing [Yugoslavia's]
constitution to suit his purposes and trying to be
provocative," AP reported. She added that "the important
thing is for the opposition to solidify, present a single
[presidential] candidate, and get on with the elections....
There is no doubt in anybody's mind that this election is
going to take place...and that it will take place in unfair
circumstances where the media is under control and the
opposition is being intimidated," Albright noted. PM

DRASKOVIC TRYING TO PRESSURE SERBIAN OPPOSITION?

Former
General Momcilo Perisic of the Movement for Democratic Serbia
said on 3 August that the Serbian Renewal Movement's Vuk
"Draskovic asked [other opposition leaders] to join him in
boycotting parliamentary elections and demanded that we
support his candidate for the federal president. In return,
he would work with us in the local polls," Perisic added.
Reuters reported that Draskovic's presidential candidate
could be Vojislav Mihajlovic, who is mayor of Belgrade and a
senior SPO official. SPO leaders will hold a strategy meeting
on 6 August. PM

THREE SUSPECTED WAR CRIMINALS ESCAPE FROM JAIL IN KOSOVA

Three unnamed Serbs facing trial on charges of war crimes and
genocide escaped from a hospital in Mitrovica in the early
hours of 4 August, dpa reported. Doctors with the UN's
civilian administration in Kosova (UNMIK) had recently
recommended that the men be sent to the hospital. UNMIK said
in a press release that an investigation is under way. PM

KOSOVA MODERATE PARTY SLAMS SHOOTING OF TWO LEADERS

Ibrahim
Rugova's Democratic League of Kosova said in a statement on 4
August that "attacks against party activists and members are
intensifying. As the preparations for the [October] elections
are under way, this fact proves that authors of these attacks
are against democratic elections, against stability, and
against the independence and future of Kosova," AP reported
from Prishtina. The statement referred to the recent
shootings of two local LDK officials in separate incidents
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 August 2000). PM

U.S. TO REOPEN VISA SECTION IN TIRANA EMBASSY

U.S.
Ambassador to Albania Joseph Limprecht said in Tirana on 4
August that the visa section of the embassy will reopen on 5
September. He said that the decision to reopen the facility
reflects the growing stability in Albania. The visa section
was closed in 1998 in an effort to tighten security against a
possible terrorist threat from the Middle East. PM

THE LAST YUGOSLAV?

The Zagreb daily "Vecernji list" reported
on 3 August that Croatian police have completed a 16-month
investigation of a major cigarette-smuggling ring headed by
Marko Milosevic, who is the son of Slobodan. The young
Milosevic, who is well known as a "businessman," takes
cigarettes from the Croatian factory in Rovinj and gets them
to Belgrade via Slovenia and via the Montenegrin port of Bar.
Milosevic junior's firm is based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The
paper added that young Milosevic controls virtually the
entire illicit cigarette trade in Serbia. PM

ROMANIA'S LIBERALS ISOLATING FORMER ALLIES...

National
Liberal Party (PNL) negotiators are meeting on 4 August with
representatives of the Union of Rightist Forces to discuss
forging an electoral alliance. On 3 August, PNL
representatives met with members of the civic organization
represented in the disintegrating Democratic Convention of
Romania (CDR) and with Victor Ciorbea, leader of the
Christian Democratic National Alliance (ANCD), in what
observers say is an attempt to isolate the National Peasant
Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) from its prospective
allies in a restructured CDR that would not include the PNL.
Ciorbea said the meeting has "laid the foundation of setting
up a Liberal Democratic Alliance." He also said the ANCD
rejects the PNTCD demand that their two parties merge.
Constantin Ticu-Dumitrescu, who represented the civic
organizations, said the forging of "a new political
structure" capable of opposing the "slide to the Left," is
now feasible. MS

...AND CONTINUE FEELERS WITH MELESCANU'S PARTY

Representatives of the PNL and the Alliance for Romania (APR)
on 3 August agreed that contacts between negotiating teams of
their parties will continue at "expert level" with the
purpose of forging "a pre-electoral or a post-electoral
alliance." APR leader Teodor Melescanu said if the two
parties prove unable to agree on a joint presidential
candidate they might support their best-placed candidate in
the second runoff of the presidential contest. Also on 3
August, PNL First Deputy Chairman Valeriu Stoica and Iasi
Mayor Constantin Simirad, leader of the Party of Moldovans,
agreed to merge their formations. The agreement is to be
approved by extraordinary congresses of the two parties, both
due to be held on 18 August. MS

EU RAPPORTEUR SAYS ROMANIA'S ROAD TO UNION 'LONG AND
DIFFICULT'

Baroness Emma Nicholson, EU rapporteur on Romania
in the negotiations for the country's accession to the union,
said in her report that Romania's road to joining the
organization is "long, difficult, and full of hindrances,"
Romanian Radio reported on 3 August. Among the main obstacles
mentioned are the situation of abandoned children in that
country, corruption in its public administration, Romania's
economic situation, and the slow progress on privatization.
The report emphasizes, however, that Romania's geographic
position is important to stabilizing the region and that
Bucharest meets all political criteria for joining the EU. It
also says Romania has "taken all necessary measures for
national minorities to benefit from all rights stipulated in
EU Council documents." MS

ROMANIAN ROMANY ORGANIZATION TO SUE STATE

The CRISS Romany
non-governmental organization on 3 August said it will sue
the state for discriminating against Roma, AFP reported. The
organization said a state-funded employment agency in
Bucharest advertises job vacancies carrying the warning "Roma
need not apply." MS

OSCE DOUBTS RUSSIAN WITHDRAWAL BY END 2002

In an interview
with the BBC, William Hill, head of the OSCE mission to
Moldova, said Russia will not--due to "technical reasons"--be
able to abide by its pledge to end the withdrawal of troops
from the Transdniester region by 2002, as agreed at the
OSCE's 1999 Istanbul summit. Hill says that in order for the
withdrawal to be completed by then, Russia must start it in
autumn 2000 "at latest," Romanian Radio reported. Also on 3
August, Vasile Sturza, chairman of the Moldovan special
commission for the settlement of the Transdniester conflict,
told MoldPress that all Moldovan, Russian, and
Transdniestrian troops in the security zone separating the
two former belligerents must be replaced by OSCE troops. MS

BULGARIAN PREMIER DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN BUGGING SCANDAL

Prime Minister Ivan Kostov told a special session of the
parliament on 3 August that his cabinet never ordered
special surveillance means to be used against Prosecutor-
General Nikola Ilichev, legislators or magistrates (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 31 July and 2 August 2000 ). Kostov
called for a "national consensus" to eliminate once and
forever the surveillance methods of the communist era.
"This practice of the past should forever remain in the
past," he said. Interior Minister Emanuil Yordanov repeated
that the check conducted by his ministry found that the
listening devices were planted in 1994 in Ilichev's and the
other apartments in which they were discovered last week,
but that they were never used, AP reported. The legislators
authorized their parliamentary National Security Committee
to investigate the use of special surveillance means and
requested stronger civilian control over the Interior
Ministry. MS

DEATH OF A CHECHEN PRAGMATIST

By Liz Fuller

Of the quantities of journalistic and analytical
materials devoted to Russia's 1994-1996 war in Chechnya, one
of the most invaluable is Yusup Soslambekov's 100-page
compendium "Chechnya -- The View From Inside."

Published in 1995, before the signing by then Russian
Security Council secretary Aleksandr Lebed and then Chechen
army chief of staff Aslan Maskhadov of the August 1996
ceasefire agreement and the subsequent Khasavyurt accord,
Soslambekov's work comprises a chronological series of essays
devoted to political developments in Chechnya from 1990-1994,
together with a 1993 draft treaty on Chechen-Russian
relations, and three successive peace plans drafted in 1995.

Those materials are important and useful for several
reasons. Soslambekov was a key political actor in Chechnya in
his own right as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission
of the Chechen parliament elected in October 1991.
(Soslambekov split with then President Dzhokhar Dudaev in the
early summer of 1993 after the latter used force to dissolve
the parliament, of which Soslambekov was subsequently elected
chairman.) Soslambekov participated in talks with Moscow in
1991-1993 and was acquainted with all the Chechen and Russian
political figures who collectively contributed to the
escalation in tensions that resulted in the Russian invasion
in December 1994.

His insights into the evolving confrontation are
fascinating: he reveals, for instance, that in the late
summer of 1991 then Russian Supreme Soviet speaker Ruslan
Khasbulatov wanted to install his hand-picked team of Chechen
leaders, but Russian President Boris Yeltsin preferred
Dudaev. That choice proved fateful because, as Soslambekov
writes "The methods chosen by Dudaev to attain real
independence ran counter to common sense. Rather than taking
as his guidelines the norms of international law, from day
one of his term as president he chose the path of
confrontation...in regulating relations with the Russian
Federation." He attributes Dudaev's initial popularity among
the Chechen people to his honesty and the fact that he was a
member neither of the former Communist Party nomenklatura nor
the wealthy Chechen business community in Moscow.

Despite his avowed opposition to Dudaev, Soslambekov
remained committed to achieving independence for Chechnya,
but at the minimum cost in human life and suffering and with
the maximum effort to reduce tensions between Chechnya and
Moscow and to avoid destabilizing the neighboring North
Caucasus republics. To that end, he drafted a treaty "On the
basis of relations between the Chechen Republic and the
Russian Federation," whereby Moscow recognized Chechnya's
independence, but the territorial integrity of the Russian
Federation was nonetheless preserved.

Soslambekov argued repeatedly that neither the Russians
nor the Chechens could achieve a military victory in
Chechnya. His draft proposals for resolving the conflict,
based on the phased approach, all envisaged a cessation of
hostilities, the creation of a provisional Chechen
government, and the conduct of a referendum in which the
republic's population would be invited to choose between
independence for Chechnya; a confederation with Russia;
"associated membership" of the Russian Federation; and the
same degree of sovereignty within the Russian Federation as
enjoyed by the Republic of Tatarstan.

Soslambekov's proposed model for an independent
democratic Chechen state is Switzerland: he points to
similarities in mentality and traditions between two small
and fiercely independent mountain peoples. He offers concise,
but valuable comments on the relevance of such factors as
Chechnya's teyp (clan) system, Islam in Chechnya, and the
illicit export of oil.

However apposite and rational they may have been,
Soslambekov's proposals were routinely ignored by a Russian
leadership that proceeded to launch a new war last summer.
The similarities between the present situation and that in
1995 are depressing: the Chechen president is branded as a
criminal and thus not considered a valid partner for
negotiations; the military situation is close to a stalemate;
and the Chechen administration installed by Moscow has only
minimal control over events on the ground.

As Maskhadov's designated envoy for liaison with the
Russian leadership, Soslambekov was ideally qualified to
craft a new peace settlement had Moscow demonstrated any
interest in doing so. But he was gunned down on a Moscow
street on 18 July, and died nine days later, without
regaining consciousness, at the age of 44.